Paul Szmal: It's 7.53 on FLX Morning here on Finger Lakes News Radio, and I'm joined by Katie Bronson from the Wayne Economic Development Corporation. Katie, good morning. How are you this morning?
Katie Bronson: Good. Great. Thanks for having me.
Paul Szmal: Yeah, appreciate you being here. We are in the stretch run for the annual Wayne County Pitch Competition. Can you tell us what that is?
Katie Bronson: Yes. So we have our annual pitch competition, and we actually have two programs. One is called the Wayne County Adult Pitch Competition, and then we also have our Wayne County Student Competition.
Paul Szmal: And what exactly is the pitch in this case?
Katie Bronson: The pitch in this case is pitching a business. For the adult pitch competition, we're interested in people who are thinking to start a new business that haven't quite started it yet, or a business that is less than three years in existence.
Paul Szmal: Okay. So this is, is that for both the adults and the students?
Katie Bronson: No. For the students, we are looking for high school students that they are interested in doing a new business idea or project, and it can also be a group project with other students.
Paul Szmal: Okay. Okay. What are the prizes that are up for grabs?
Katie Bronson: Oh, we have a number of prizes. When it comes to the adult pitch competition, we have the first prize, which is $20,000 to start your new business, and we also have what we're calling the Boost Award, and that's $5,000. For the student pitch competition, we have a variety of awards. So we have first, second, and third prize, and then we also have a community project or business. And then we also have an award for the school district that provides the most applicants through this program.
Paul Szmal: Can you tell me about some of the past winners?
Katie Bronson: Oh, this is my favorite part. The one part of this program that I really enjoy is the fact that we have a diversity of businesses and students that come to pitch their business or idea. And we've had Load Alone, that was a company that built sort of machinery equipment in order to load caskets on their own. That was our first year in 2019. Most previously, we had a brewing company, Drumlin's Brewing Company, that won in the fall of 2024. So we always have a diversity of applicants. So that's one thing I want to encourage everyone. It's not focused towards one type of industry. It's really an opportunity for any type of business to apply.
Paul Szmal: And what are the deadlines that are coming up?
Katie Bronson: Yes, this is coming up very quickly. We have the adult pitch competition is due on March 14th by 4 p.m. And the student pitch competition, that is due the following week, and that is March 21st, also at 4 p.m.
Paul Szmal: Now who judges the awards for the adults and the students?
Katie Bronson: Yes, we have a variety of judges. They come from different backgrounds. So we have people who have had financial background, people who have mentoring background. We also have people who have financial and audit background. So it is diverse, and we have several people review your application to really tally it together to identify who the top five are for the adult and who the winners are for the student pitch.
Paul Szmal: And then when are the awards and the decisions announced and handed out?
Katie Bronson: Yes, so as we mentioned, the applications are coming up very shortly. For the adult pitch competition, we have two levels. We have our first round of first round judges, and then we have our final pitch. And that is actually on April 30th, and that will actually be at a new location. We've been having it at the BOCES Conference Center in Newark, but this year we're actually doing it at a high school. So we're doing it at the Newark High School. So that's a new, exciting aspect of our program. And again, that is April 30th, and that's where the adults do their final pitch. The student pitch, they only have one round. So they will submit their materials by, again, March 21st, and then it will be reviewed by the judges, but it will be announced on April 30th as well.
Paul Szmal: Oh, fantastic, fantastic. So if somebody wants to put something together or is in the process of putting it together, how do they go about actually entering their presentation and getting involved?
Katie Bronson: Yes. So the first step I would mention to everyone is to look at our website, to go to wedcny.com, and that will have both information on the adult pitch competition and the student pitch competition. It gives directions, guidelines, and requirements for the program. Just as a side note, for the adult pitch competition, all applicants have to do a score workshop We had two in February. Those have already passed. But if you were not able to attend the in-person score workshops, please contact me. Again, my contact information is on our website, and I can send you some prerecorded score workshops for you to fulfill that requirement so you can apply by March 14th.
Paul Szmal: Awesome. And that website again is?
Katie Bronson: The website is wedcny.com. And again, the deadline is March 14th for the adult applications, and the student applications are due March 21st. And then April 30th is when we have the final presentations for adults and we announce the student winners.
Paul Szmal: Correct.
Katie Bronson: Fantastic. Kathy, or Katie, thank you so much for stopping in this morning. Much appreciated. And hopefully we get a lot of quality entries.
Katie Bronson: Thank you.
Paul Szmal: All right. That is Katie Bronson from Wayne Economic Development Corporation in their adult and student pitch competitions as they're getting into the stretch run. Again, the deadline is March 14th for the adult applications, March 21st for the youth or student applications. It's 7.59 on FLX Morning. We have the CBS World News Roundup and local news with Greg Cotterill, plus more interviews coming up.
